Heart of Hoenn
by Realmofeternity
Summary: Eleven years after the events of Emerald, a 17-year-old girl named Heart is researching the intense and random weather patterns in Hoenn. With old allies and new ones, she hopes to find the source of the natural disasters before the entire region is swallowed by the sea.
1. Prologue

I remember walking around on the floating streets of Pacifalog just before the storm. It was hard to walk on them, due to the waves coming from the storm. I almost fell into the murky surf more than once.

Finally, I made it to my dad. He was so focused on the storm, he didn't notice me for a couple of minutes. He eventually did, though, and held up his binoculars so I could get a view of the storm myself. It scared me. I shivered at the sight of it, all dark and menacing, striking the sea with lightning every now and again. He took them back, but I could still see just how bad it was.

I was twelve. I'd been studying the weather of Hoenn with him for most of my life. I knew how dangerous it was to be out there with him, but he'd told me it was safe.

It wasn't long before he changed his mind.

The angry clouds got closer and closer, and soon, even my friend Ursula the Tentacool dove beneath the surface to hide from it. By the time I could see the lightning without the aid of binoculars, my dad had changed his mind.

"Go back to the mainland with Archer," he told me, releasing his trusted Skarmory from confinement. That was the first time I'd ever seen the hardy Steel-type scared.

I didn't want to go without him, but I was too scared of the storm myself to stay. I climbed onto Archer's back and we flew back to Slateport. It was rough going, what with the winds having picked up. We were tossed around in the air, and practically crash-landed onto the pavement by the submarine station.

There, the people of Pacifalog were gathered, watching the storm's progress from a distance. We stayed with them for a while, not knowing how long it would take for the storm to reach Pacifalog. Not knowing if my dad would follow on another of his flying types.

Eventually, my dad's assistant found us in the crowd, and took us both back to the hotel. We stayed there until morning, and then headed back to the research facility near Fortree City.

We waited several days to hear from him, but word never came.

His Pokemon – all but his most beloved friend, Dewie the Castform – returned to the facility in the following weeks.

Pacifalog, the houses, and everything they had contained, were lost in the storm.

The people that had lived there were left homeless.

My father's body was never found.

I was never the same.


	2. Chapter 1

I couldn't believe it.

Honestly, I couldn't. When Steven first told me about it, I thought it was some cruel joke.

But no. It was real, to my horror.

A storm, similar to the one that had destroyed Pacifalog, was on its way toward Mossdeep.

Of course, I was the first person on the scene. Well, the only person crazy enough to be on the scene, anyway. I had to see it with my own eyes.

It roiled and raged over the sea, just east of Sootpolis. It spat lightning out at a rate and intensity I hadn't seen since the last hurricane.

I looked at it through my binoculars. It wasn't easy to focus on. Not only was my hair whipping around in the wind, but I was constantly knocked off balance by the waves at my feet. The shallows of Mossdeep were unkind, being slippery and stony. I was also cold. A tank top and jean shorts were not ideal for hurricane-watching. Minus five points for wardrobe malfunction.

I knew I couldn't stay there too long. Irritated, I packed my things into my tote – which was soaked by that point – and made my way back to solid ground, where my friends, Blaise the Blaziken and Clara the Gardevoir waited. Ursula, a Tentacruel that always followed me on my trips to the islands, had already disappeared under the violent surf.

"We need to get out of here," I told them when I got to the coral-colored steps of the city. Clara nodded her head and held a hand out to me. In moments, we were in Lilycove, far away from the massacre that was about to take place.

My hair fell around my shoulders, and I attempted to comb through it with my fingers. It was no good. The wind had tangled it too much. I sighed and wished I'd put it back.

Then, I got a call.

"Hello?"

"Heart, its Steven."

"Hey Steven."

"You didn't go to Mossdeep, did you? I wasn't getting through to you for a while there…" he sounded worried.

"I did."

"Why?"

"You know why, Steven. I was the first person to read the charts. I saw the reports. You told me about it, too, didn't you? How are you possibly surprised?"

"I'm not surprised," he said, "Just worried for your safety."

I huffed into the PokeNav, and replied, "I had to go. For my own peace of mind." That was b.s. Going hadn't granted me any sort of peace. My mind was in complete turmoil.

"Whatever. Where are you now?"

"Lilycove."

"Good. Now, I have a mission for you…"

"Already?"

"Yes."

"Fine, what is it?"

"Stay where you are. Find somewhere to stay overnight. And, most importantly, don't go back to Mossdeep."

"Seriously? You called me just to tell me that I'm not allowed to do anything?"

"I didn't say that I was done."

I rolled my eyes, "All right, go on, then."

"I also want you…to go to a Contest."

"A contest?"

"Yes."

"I'm not going to a Contest."

"I'm not asking you to participate in one; I just think it would be a good idea for you to relax."

"I don't want to relax."

"I think you should."

"I wouldn't be relaxed. I'd be pissed. You know how I feel about Contests."

"Please go to one."

"No."

"Go to the Tough Contest, if you're really against the others."

"I'm against them all, Steven. I'll stay here, but I'm not going to a goddamn Contest."

"How about the Safari Zone, then?"

"I don't catch Pokémon."

"You can start. I've been telling you for years that you should make a team for yourself."

"I don't want a team, I want friends. And I have friends."

"Then go to the Safari Zone and make friends."

"No way, man. The Pokémon in the Safari Zone are way too hopped up on Rare Candies to be friendly."

There was a pause, "You're really bitter, you know that?"

"I'm not bitter, I'm realistic," I told him, then hung up.

I'd gotten the 'bitter' thing from him one too many times. I really just couldn't help it. Since my father's death, the light in the world had all but vanished. While I had trouble seeing the good in things, seeing the bad became very easy.

While I was on the phone, Clara and Blaise had moved away, so that our conversation could be a bit more private. They stood by the crowds of people evacuated from Mossdeep, holding hands. Since Clara's trainer, Wally, had died in the Mt. Chimney eruption two years ago, she'd really gotten close to Blaise. I was glad she was with us. She was like a mother to me, always encouraging and supporting me, giving me advice, and comforting me whenever I got upset or angry…I was glad she'd chosen to come with us instead of returning to the wild.

I watched the storm from where I was, not in the mood to talk to anyone else. I stared at it for a good long time, as if waiting for something to happen. Then, something did. I saw something – a huge something – fly around the top of the storm. Its dark body blended with the black clouds, but I could clearly see it move across the sky. I couldn't see any details, so I tried to focus in on it more.

Then I blinked, and it was gone. It had vanished, and although I continued to search for it a while longer, I eventually wrote it off as a figment of my imagination. _Nothing this side of Mt. Silver could survive a storm like that one_, I thought.


	3. Chapter 2

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I have a summer house there. I had Skarmory fly me there earlier. The windows were all broken, and everything inside was soaked, but otherwise…"

"And it was the same for all the other houses?"

"Yes, Heart."

"What about the Space Center?"

"It looked just fine, Heart."

"Looked? What do you mean looked? You didn't go up to check?"

"Heart…"

"…I'm sorry. I just think you should've checked…"

"Everything is fine."

"I know, I know. I'll just head over and make sure-"

"Actually, I have something else I need you to check on."

"But…"

"Heart, please, don't go back to Mossdeep. I know this is personal for you, but don't."

"But…Steven, I-"

"I need you to go to the desert on Route 111. Something odds been happening there…"

"Nothing that's happening in the desert could possibly be more important than what's happening out at sea, Steven!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes!"

"So a storm at sea, where it rains almost every day, is more unusual than anything that could possibly happen in the desert?"

"That's what I just said."

"All right then."

"…So?"

"So what?"

"What's it doing in the desert?"

"Oh, nothing special. It's just raining."

He hung up, and I closed my PokeNav with a sigh.

"_How'd it go?"_ Clara asked. We were standing outside the Safari Zone on Route 121. Blaise was a ways off, talking to a couple of Shuppet about the local goings-on.

"He's mad," I said, slipping it into my pocket.

"_So I heard…why didn't he come see us in Lilycove?"_

"He got held up at Devon. Something about fossils…"

"_And what did he say about the desert?"_ She said, absent-mindedly picking a flower and trying to put it in her hair.

"Nothing much. He's just sending me there to keep me away from Mossdeep." I kicked a rock in frustration.

"_Well, why the desert?"_ she asked_, "He could just send you to Mauville or Fortree."_

"Something about rain. I don't know. It's just something stupid."

She stopped fiddling with her hair, and laid the flower on her leg, "…_Rain?"_

"Yeah."

"_In the desert?"_

I was starting to get a little annoyed with her, "Yeah, Clara. Rain in the des…oh…" It finally dawned on me that RAIN DOESN'T HAPPEN IN THE DESERT. I felt so stupid; I almost started slamming my face against the Safari Zone's brick wall.

When we got there, I was appalled. The desert wasn't a desert anymore. It was a giant pool of quicksand.

Rain was still pouring down from a large, dark storm cloud. It wasn't as big as the one over Mossdeep had been, but it was big enough to make me a bit nauseous.

I looked around for a friend of mine from the desert; a Flygon named Roy that I'd met a while back. He was the leader of a small group of Flygon that lived in the desert area. He was huge, so when I couldn't find him, I knew he wasn't around.

"I need to find Roy," I told Clara, "He might have some answers."

"_Or maybe he won't,"_ Blaise corrected me, cowering under the only umbrella we'd brought. The two didn't really get along well.

"Grow up, Blaise."

"_I will not grow up! He needs to stop acting all high-and-mighty."_

"_He's a dragon, hun,"_ Clara said, resting a hand on his shoulder, "_They can't help it."_

I left the two of them on the edge of the desert and started slogging through. It was rough going, and it wasn't long before I had to stop on a rock in order to catch my breath. I looked around, trying to see through the rain. I wished that I'd brought my umbrella with me, but I knew that Blaise needed it more than I did, being a fire-type and all.

I sighed heavily and smoothed my wet hair out of my face.

"_Keke…"_ something laughed.

I looked around, "Hello?"

"_Ooh…gotta be quiet…"_ its voice echoed, as if it were in a cave.

"Who's there?"

"…_Trap trap…"_

I stood. It sounded like a Trapinch. "Go away, ya little bugger. The weather's not good for tricks like yours."

"_Trap trap!"_

The ground fell in from underneath me, which struck me as odd since I was sitting on a rock. I managed to stay upright as I fell, landing on my feet before slipping on wet sand. "Gah…ow…where'd you go?"

"_Keke…you Heart?"_

_Oh, so it's one of those deals_, "Yeah."

"_Roy wants to talk to you."_

"And you couldn't just tell me that?"

"_I could've. But dat would've been boring."_ He laughed at me over his shoulder, and started walking away, "_Dis way."_

I rolled my eyes, but followed him anyway, "Why couldn't Roy just come and talk to me himself?"

"_He not doin so good."_

Light was filtering in from above, but so were piles of wet sand. They fell on either side of us as we walked along. "This is disgusting."

"_Yeh. Dis rain…it be crazy."_

I rolled my eyes again.

"_Here we are. Don't piss him off," _he said to me as we left the sopping sand behind for dry rock.

I raised an eyebrow at the little guy, "We're friends."

"_Nah, you be human, which makes you…eh…beneath him."_

"Yeah, right," I muttered. We entered a large cavern-like area, which I assumed was an elevated part of the underground tunnel system the Trapinch lived in.

"_Don't piss him off." _

I watched him leave, and then looked around for Roy. As huge as he was, I almost missed him. He was curled up on the rocks, as far away from the cavern I'd come from as he could get, "Roy?"

He huffed, and raised his head to look at me. He didn't look well; he was caked in wet sand and had a dazed look in his eyes.

"Are you all right?" I asked him, taking a step closer. I kept the Trapinch's warning in the back of my mind.

"_My health…is none of your concern…human Heart…"_

"You look sick."

"_It is none of your concern,"_ he said again, more aggressively.

I decided to put the warning aside. Roy was clearly in some discomfort, and was in no condition to attack me. I went up to him, "Yeah, well, I'm here, and I have healing supplies. So whether it's my concern or not, I'll fix you up. Free of charge." I took a few things from my bag and got to work. As I suspected, he didn't fight it. He watched as I fixed him up, scraping off the sand and bandaging the areas that had been irritated by the rain. When I was through, I placed a few berries on the ground in front of him.

He looked at them with disdain, "_Human Heart…"_

"Yes?"

"_You should remember your place when in my presence."_

I laughed, "Guess that's the thanks I get. Nice to see that you're back to your usual self."

He kept his stern face, but I thought I saw a flicker of a smile.

"That little bugger said you wanted to talk to me…?" I said to him.

He nodded_, "I hear of some conflict from my fellow Dragons."_

"Conflict among them? Or conflict that they're talking about?"

"_They speak of it, but refuse to partake. Apparently, there is a Dragon from outside of this region working with a human…they're invading sacred Dragon land."_

I shook my head, "I see where this is going, but I really can't help. What you need is a Pokémon Ranger, not a weather researcher."

"_Human Heart, I have seen many a Pokémon Ranger. Their skills regarding communication with Pokémon are put to shame by you and your daily exploits. You have found more allies in Hoenn through conversation alone than they ever could with those…contraptions."_

"But that doesn't qualify me to negotiate an argument among Dragons, Roy. You're the only one I know who could settle an argument like that.

"_I cannot leave with the weather as it is."_

"Well, then I guess this will go unsolved."

"_Human Heart…"_

I threw my arms into the air in defeat, "You want me to do this? Fine! Have a human solve your problems for you! That's majestic! Real Dragon-like!"

Roy stood, a bit unbalanced, but still very threatening, "_Human Heart…you'd best watch your mouth…"_

"No, you watch it! I'm. Not. Going. It's not that I'm not ok with solving your problems, I just really don't feel like getting eaten today!"

"_They will not eat you."_

"You can't promise that! You know how Salamence get!"

"_They will not eat you."_

I looked at him. I knew he wasn't promising anything. I sighed, "All right, then. I'll…I'll go check it out."

He nodded, and coiled himself onto the rocky ground again. The berried lay on the floor, disturbed by him having gotten up, but uneaten. I left them there for him to eat whenever he woke up.

I went back the way I had come, and there, in my way, was the Trapinch, "_Way to not make him mad, human,"_ he mocked.

"Shut up. I'm still in one piece, aren't I?" My stomach filled with butterflies at the thought that, in a short while, that might not be true. God damn it, I hate dealing with Dragons.


End file.
